Criminal Justice Statistics: Final
CRJS-3020-01

Points: 100

Final Objectives
To assess your knowledge of concepts covered in the class text and lectures, as well as your practical knowledge using SPSS. Make sure that this document is professional, i.e. graphs/charts are presentable and embedded properly, results are reported accurately, no output tables are copy and pasted. Grading will be stricter than labs and points deducted for formatting errors, not adhering to best practices, omitting information that should be reported, and lack of effort in providing explanations for results.

In addition, it is expected that you will not discuss the questions, answers or any of the final with anyone else including other students in the class. Evidence of cheating will result in a grade of 0 for the final.

IMPORTANT: Make sure you submit your output file along with this document or 5 points will be deducted from your grade.

Course Materials Covered
One-Sample T-test, Independent Samples T-test, ANOVA, Chi-Square, Correlation, Regression

Data

The dataset for this final contains data from 1995 for both a national survey on crime and the Uniform Crime Report’s annual arrest estimates. The unit of analysis is the survey respondent and the UCR arrest data was matched to the county where the respondent lived when they completed the survey. Do not rely on the SPSS metadata to accurately identify the scale of measurement for each variable, instead examine the data file and how the variables are coded.

Questions

1. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a relationship between the urbanization level of the community where the respondent lives (d8) and the main reason for why they have a gun in their home (d12). Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document. Also, visualize the bivariate relationship between the two variables.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results (do not copy and paste results).

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

2. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a significant difference in a respondent’s perspective on the legitimacy of law enforcement (POLICE_LEGITIMACY: A summation of questions p1 through p7) based on their race/ethnicity (d2). Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship and provide the following information.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results.

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

3. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a significant difference in the total number of crimes in a county (p1tot) between a known population (all counties in the USA) and those in urban counties where the survey respondents reside. To do this, you must filter your data for this question so you are only looking at respondents who live in urban counties (d8). You know that the average number of total crimes for the population of all USA counties is 4,503. Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship and provide the following information.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results (do not copy and paste results).

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

4. (10 points). You want to determine whether the number of violent crimes in a respondent’s county (VIOLENT_CRIME_100K_POP) has a significant impact on a respondent’s perceptions of problems in their neighborhood (PROBLEMS_NEIGHBORHOOD: a summation of questions n1 through n8) and how changes in the violent crime rate change those perceptions.

0. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document. Also, visualize the bivariate relationship between the two variables.

0. State your hypotheses.

0. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

0. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results (do not copy and paste results).

0. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

5. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a significant difference in the violent crime rate in a respondent’s community (VIOLENT_CRIME_100K_POP) based on whether the respondent does, or does not, have a gun in their house (d11). Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship and provide the following information.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results.

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

6. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a significant relationship between how often respondents worry about crime (WORRY_CRIME: a summation of questions w1 through w7) and their perceptions of problems in their neighborhood (PROBLEMS_NEIGHBORHOOD) and you would like to know the strength of that relationship.

0. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document. Also, visualize the bivariate relationship between the two variables.

0. State your hypotheses.

0. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

0. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results (do not copy and paste results).

0. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

7. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a significant difference in a respondent’s punitive correctional perspective (PUNITIVE_CORRECTIONAL_PERSPECTIVE: a summation of questions r1 through r13) across political ideological alignment (d7). Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship and provide the following information.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results.

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

8. (10 points). You want to determine whether a respondent’s perception of problems in their neighborhood (PROBLEMS_NEIGHBORHOOD) has a significant impact on a respondent’s perceptions of how legitimate law enforcement is in their community (POLICE_LEGITIMACY) and how changes in the perceptions of problems change perceptions of police legitimacy.

0. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document. Also, visualize the bivariate relationship between the two variables.

0. State your hypotheses.

0. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

0. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results (do not copy and paste results).

0. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

9. (10 points). You want to determine whether there is a significant difference in a how often a respondent worries about crime (WORRY_CRIME) based on whether they are, or are not, regular viewers of TV crime shows (m3). Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship and provide the following information.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results.

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

10. (10 points). Pick two variables of interest to you, which you believe should have some theoretical and empirical connection. Based on the levels of measurement for each variable, determine which statistical test is appropriate for testing the relationship.

a. Visualize each variable as a graph/chart using best practices. Insert the graph/chart into this document.

b. State your hypotheses.

c. If appropriate, check whether your dependent and/or independent variables are normally distributed and explain why they are, or are not, normally distributed.

d. Run the appropriate test, and report the correct results (do not copy and paste results).

e. Finally, interpret your results. What is your explanation for the results you found?

CRJS-3020-01 | Parkin | Seattle University 4